Kohathites

The Kohathites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Biblical times. The Bible claims that the Kohathites were all descended from the eponymous Kohath , a son of Levi , although some biblical scholars regard this as a postdictional metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the clan to others in the Israelite confederation ; according to some Jewish scholars, Levite was originally just a job title, deriving from the Minaean word lawi'u meaning priest , rather than having been the name of a tribe . Although the Aaronids are described as part of the Kohathites, the text strongly differentiates between the Aaronids and the other Kohathites. The Bible ascribes a specific religious function to the Kohathites, namely care of the vessels and objects within the sanctuary - the Ark of the Covenant , Menorah , Table of Shewbread , etc . This differentiation of religious activity between the Kohathites and other Levites, even the Aaronids, is found only in the Priestly Code , and not in passages that textual scholars attribute to other authors . According to the Book of Joshua , rather than possessing a continuous territory, the Kohathites possessed several cities scattered throughout the geographic region in the Kingdom of Israel south of the Jezreel Valley , and in the region north of the Galilee , the latter being an extremely large distance apart from the former : in the territory of Ephraim : Shechem , Gezer , Kibzaim , and Beth-horon in the territory of Manasseh : Tanach , Gat Rimon in the territory of Dan : Eltekeh , Gibbethon , Aijalon , and Gath-rimmon The narrative in Joshua argues that the territory was taken by the Levites right after Joshua 's conquest of Canaan , but this cannot be correct , as it is contradicted not only by archaeological evidence, but also by narratives in the Book of Judges , Books of Samuel , and Books of Kings ; Gezer, for example, is portrayed in the narrative of the Book of Kings as only coming into the possession of the Levites during the reign of Solomon , and archaeological excavation of the site has shown that shortly prior to the Babylonian captivity it was still the site of a large temple to the Canaanite deity Astarte . The conclusion of most biblical scholars is thus that the whole system of Levite cities, in the Torah and deuteronomic history , is an attempt to explain the fact that important early sanctuaries existed at these locations, and thus were places where members of the priesthood naturally came to reside in large numbers ; scholars believe that the priesthood was originally open to any tribe, but gradually became seen as a distinct tribe to themselves - the Levites . Numbers 3:21 Peake's commentary on the Bible Jewish Encyclopedia This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore ; et al., eds.

The Kohathites were one of the three main divisions among the Levites in Biblical times, the other two being the Gershonites and the Merarites . The Bible claims that the Kohathites were all descended from the eponymous Kohath , a son of Levi , although some biblical scholars regard this as a postdictional metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the clan to others in the Israelite confederation ; according to some Jewish scholars, Levite was originally just a job title, deriving from the Minaean word lawi'u meaning priest , rather than having been the name of a tribe. Although the Aaronids are described as part of the Kohathites, the text strongly differentiates between the Aaronids and the other Kohathites. The Bible ascribes a specific religious function to the Kohathites, namely care of the vessels and objects within the sanctuary - the Ark of the Covenant , Menorah , Table of Shewbread , etc. This differentiation of religious activity between the Kohathites and other Levites, even the Aaronids, is found only in the Priestly Code , and not in passages that textual scholars attribute to other authors. According to the Book of Joshua , rather than possessing a continuous territory, the Kohathites possessed several cities scattered throughout the geographic region in the Kingdom of Israel south of the Jezreel Valley , and in the region north of the Galilee , the latter being an extremely large distance apart from the former: in the territory of Ephraim : Shechem , Gezer , Kibzaim , and Beth-horon in the territory of Manasseh : Taanach , Gat Rimon in the territory of Dan : Eltekeh , Gibbethon , Aijalon , and Gath-rimmon The narrative in Joshua argues that the territory was taken by the Levites right after Joshua 's conquest of Canaan , but this cannot be correct, as it is contradicted not only by archaeological evidence, but also by narratives in the Book of Judges , Books of Samuel , and Books of Kings ; Gezer, for example, is portrayed in the narrative of the Book of Kings as only coming into the possession of the Levites during the reign of Solomon , and archaeological excavation of the site has shown that shortly prior to the Babylonian captivity it was still the site of a large temple to the Canaanite deity Astarte . The conclusion of most biblical scholars is thus that the whole system of Levite cities, in the Torah and deuteronomic history , is an attempt to explain the fact that important early sanctuaries existed at these locations, and thus were places where members of the priesthood naturally came to reside in large numbers; some scholars believe that the priesthood was originally open to any tribe, but gradually became seen as a distinct tribe to themselves - the Levites. Numbers 3:21 Peake's commentary on the Bible Jewish Encyclopedia This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore ; et al., eds.

Division among the Levites in Biblical times The Kohathites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in biblical times, the other three being the Gershonites , the Merarites , and the Aaronites (more commonly known as Kohanim). The Bible claims that the Kohathites were all descended from the eponymous Kohath , a son of Levi .